Sponsor (July-Dec 1954)

a Irwin A. Vladimir (President ) Irttin } ladimir & Co.. Inc. LIKE MOST Newsworthy" ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES MR. VLADIMIR'S LATEST BUSINESS PORTRAIT IS BY... Photographers to the Business Executive •'< ' I '"'• I enui Seu ) orh I? I' I 3 1882 I ( ontinued from page 19 1 and interesting weeks of nrj life in Hollywood and environs on m\ own persona] Operation TV FILM. Starting with breakfasl dates each morning, and winding up with a quiet night cap die following morning (with Lunches, office -■ sions, studio and on-the-lot investigations and cocktail meetings in between) I endeavored, in that 21-da) stretch, to see every producer, director, writer, syndicator of t\ films on the Coast. And I ju-1 about did. Among those who were kind enough to lend nie ol their knowledge and experience were Hal Roach Jr.. Hal Roach St., Guy Thayer. Roland Heed. Bill) Broidy, Carol Case, Basil Grillo, Dick Dorso and Barney Cirard (all of Bing Cro>by Enterprises), Louis Weiss, Louis Snader, Hen Frye, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball and literally -cores of others. Prior to that Coast \i-it. I had spent equally long and enchanting hour with tv film men of ever) description in and around New York. I came awa\ with one very strong impression: That here was a new. dynamic industry in which virtually all the practitioner were groping to establish successful operating patterns. The producers of the highest-rated shows were Losing money on the -how-: the sponsors of those same shows were protesting that the costs were wa\ out of line: etc.. ad infinitum. From what I've observed film practitioner are -till, for practical purposes, groping for successful operating patterns. Not too long ago a gentleman named Harold Sec who manage KKOV San Francisco, confirmed this observation by proposing at a BMI Program Clinic that tv film syndicators attempt to join forces with the aim of standardizing practices and procedures. Other such effort have keen made by various groups in the past several year-. Yet in no area of t\ film activity doe there seem to me to he a greater need for an exchange of information about actual experience than on the sponsor-advertiser level. In the earlier day of tv film a number of advertisers took on either whole or part proprietorship of some film series. Lever Bros., for example, with Big Tcnvn; R. J. Reynolds with Man Against Crime: Sterling Drug with Mark Sabre; P&G with Fireside Theatre. All of these advertisers, and other>. have utilized their series in several ways, presumably best suited to achieving their own individual objectives. The first two mentioned have been selling their film to stations and other advertisers on second and third runs in a fairly orthodox manner. Sterling, on tin1 other hand, has set up a spot time for film exchange arrangement with stations, wherein Sterling give a station Mark Sabre, in return lor an amount of spot time equal to what the film would normally cos! the station. Thi subsequent (rerun) use of film originalh produced and owned 1>\ an advertiser i merely one facet of activity on which an interchange of idea and experience might prove mutually beneficial. There are literally -core of other-. I'd like to hear from anyone who may have an) constructive thought on which present!) existing group, or what sort of group might be created to serve a a Study board and clearin house of t\ film activity. Such a group, doing a conscientious job. could prove of immeasurable value to advertisers, agencies ,\\u\ other interested in the great t\ film field. * * * 60 SPONSOR